


summer school

by paintmelilacs



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Community Service, Crude Humor, Explicit Language, Friendship, Inappropriate Humor, Misfits AU, Multi, Murder, Summer School, dont look at my sentence structure all too closely, percy is like 20 and still in highschool lol, povs switch from time to time, theyre all delinquents, this fic is my child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29053227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintmelilacs/pseuds/paintmelilacs
Summary: The blood wasn’t coming off. It was red and sticky and absolutelyeverywhere. Piper looked at her hands and then at the body laying on the floor.She killed him.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Drew Tanaka, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32





	summer school

**Author's Note:**

> were going to pretend for a moment that tv show Au’s aren’t cringy so i cant post this in good conscience
> 
> so basically this is my self indulgent Misfits (2009) au that i HAD to post or else it was going to be deleted in my drafts
> 
> povs change from person to person, etc etc yknow all that
> 
> BUT ANYWAY I ACTUALLY LOVE THIS WRITING SO I HOOE U READ AND ENJOY THX

Summer. A beautiful time.

Everyone knows that summer is a teen’s favorite season. It’s the thing they look forward to _all year—_ it's their only escape from the hellish death pit adults call " high school".

A group of teens lay on a stony beach, one tanning with a pair of skull candy’s plugged in their ears, a few belly boarding down in the ocean waves, and a coouple giggling about some rollerskating passerby’s, sending flirtatious winks their way. All of them happy. All of them free. All of them living their trickling youth to the fullest. 

Piper is not one of those teens. But she wishes she was.

Instead—ten-ish miles away and about twenty more feet above sea level—Five teens sit in classroom, windows open to accept any breeze that dare blow away the blazing summer heat, a clock ticking loudly on the wall behind them. It’s obnoxiously awkward. Someone pops their gum loudly.

What they all would give to slap their past selves now.

It's not like this is any surprise. Piper always swears she’ll “do better next year”, but her track record is less than impressive. So yeah, it’s not Piper’s first year in summer school, but with  this weather you bet your ass she’s going to make it her last.

She assesses the room.

Slouched in the back sits a tall, intimidating and slightly-asian kid—also known as Sherman Yang, a senior who’s failed more grades than Piper cares to know about. She remembers hearing about him getting suspended for shoving a sharpened pencil up some kid's nose, hard enough to make it poke out the top. She also heard that the kid's parents turned out to be lawyers. Clearly Yang wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. 

But, she knows him already, so, _boring._

A seat away from her sits a dark haired kid, a senior, tapping their pen insistently against the desk. He looks deep in thought about something.

Still not interesting enough. Piper swings her eyes over to someone else.

It’s another kid with dark hair, though it’s darker than dark— black . He wears a black t-shirt to match it, a small rose insignia on the breast pocket. A pair of black sunglasses stay firmly perched on his nose, and he rests his hands lazily behind his head, as if he had better places to be. He probably does.

Last, and least, is the big hunk of anxious asian seated in the front. And when she tells you he’s a  giant —like, he was _mountainous_. Super-sized. Just all around very _large._

He kept his hands folded neatly on the middle of his desk, glancing around as if one of them would go all Michael Myers on him at any moment. 

Piper lets her boots fall off the desk with a loud thunk. He looks fun to mess with.

She makes her way to his desk, and gives him a sinister smile. “Oi, quarterback.”

Quarterback looks up at her, utterly terrified.

This catches the attention of Sunglasses guy, but Pen guy stays heavily buried in his daydream.

“Watcha in here for?”

He swallows. “Nothing. I’m, uh, just a student.”

In the blink of an eye, Piper scoots a desk to face him--metal scraping against linoleum-- and plops down in it, taking Quarterback by surprise.

“Really? ” she says sarcastically, “I thought you were the teacher.”

His eyes glance over to Sunglasses and Pen guy, as if they would help him. Poor kid. Sunglasses just readjusts his sunglasses.

Digging around in her pocket briefly, Piper pulls out a small blue plastic pencil sharper. Then, she grabs Quarterback's number two pencil that had been waiting patiently on the his desk.

Making eye contact with the boy, she grinds the pencil into the sharpener. “So, what’s your name, Quarterback?”

Another grind.

“I’m not a quarterback?” he questions, eyeing the sharpener.

The persistent  _chv chv chv_ of the pencil adds to the suspense. Piper does not blink.

“Okay, o-okay. My names Frank.”

She doesn’t say anything, just keeps grinding the pencil with the sharpener,  _chv chv chv....._

“Are you gonna—“

_ SNAP! _

The pencil breaks in the sharpener, now only a small stub, and Frank flinches so damn hard she thinks his heart might have actually fucking stopped. Piper smiles and throws the broken ends onto the floor in front of his desk.

She sticks out her hand to him. “Nice to meetcha, Frankie.”

Before he can respond, (Not that he would, the boy was gaping like a fish), a loud sigh comes from the doorway.

“Stop terrorizing the kid, McLean.”

A man wheels himself in—yes,  _wheels_ —and swivels to a stop in front of the small classroom of high schoolers, staring at them like the very sight of them sucks his life force away. He wore a white collared shirt with a grey vest overtop, and actually looked incredibly fit for his age—well, and the fact that he was a cripple.

“Can do, Mr. Chiron.” Piper says sweetly, returning to her desk with a snide curtsey.

Chiron rubs the bridge of his nose. “Now, I know that some of you may not want to be here,” he gives a pointed look to all of the backrow children, “But this summer, i believe, could be a real turning point in your lives. You‘re being given great opportunities for change—use them. Now, I expect the basics from all of you—no cheating, no bullying your peers, no tardiness, and _for Gods sake_ ,  leave the relationship drama _outside_ the classroom.”

Piper rolls her eyes. She bets Yang gets this speech every year.

“Other than that, this is our smallest class size yet, I think we’re gonna have a great summer. But i will emphasize, no shenanigans, okay? Please do not shorten mine or Mr. Stetson’s life expectancy more than it already is.”

Sunglasses kid mumbled something about his life expectancy being _much_ overdue, and Mr. Chiron gives him a pointed look.

“If i die my cause of death will have  your name marked upon it, Di Angelo.” He warned, turning back to address the class, “And If you talk back,  _at least do it to my face.”_

Pen dude glanced to Piper, his hoodie drawn up around his face. “Somebody had a bad day.” he whispered.

Mm. “He definitely slept on the couch last night.” She whispered back.

Percy snorted and Piper began to chuckle, before both were silenced by the glare Chiron gives them.

Another man walks into the classroom, and Piper recognizes him as Mr. Stetson—a cranky middle-aged man with permanent creases on his forehead, and who probably has a fist up his ass under the desk at all times, she bets—who is also the school’s disciplinary director. 

Oh, Piper forgot to mention that. Their school is a little.... different. And by different she means its for thugs, degenerate drop-outs, and the scholarly kids brave enough to walk among them for it's amazing college programs. 

“Now—“

Mr. Stetson didn’t get halfway through his sentence when Piper’s phone starts ringing—well, specifically  _Promiscuous_ by  Nelly Furtado starts playing, but that  _is_ her ringtone. In her defense. 

Mr. Stetson crosses his arms mutely and Mr. Chiron looks like he’s going to have an anuerysm. She raises her finger to indicate that she needed a minute to answer the phone.

Piper has to hold the phone away from her ear at how loud it was.

“PIPER!  I GOT IT! I’M—I’M RUNNING DOWN THE HALLWAY, AND— _SHIT_ , I THINK HE’s ONTO ME—“

The call ends, and Piper embarrassingly tucks her phone back into her pocket, sucking in a breath and sliding slowly down her chair.

_ (What is that dumbass doing now....) _

There’s a few seconds of dead silence, before the door burst open.

“I GOT IT!! HOLY FUCK — _MISSION SUCCESS!”_

In ran a tiny, manic looking, latino boy clutching a black walkie-talkie like his life depended on it. It probably did. His eyes are blown so wide it looked like it hurt, and his curls flopped wildly, adding to his general erraticism. 

“Leo?!”

Piper didn’t have time to process this before another person busted in through the door. It was a short, furious bald man, who looked like he’d damn near wanted to wrap his beefy hands around Leo Valdez's skinny little neck, watch the life fade from his eyes, record it,  and then watch it again.

“ _VALDEZ_ _!_ IF YOU DON’T GIVE THAT DAMN THING BACK  RIGHT NOW!”

Leo hopped up on a plstic chair, waving the walkie-talkie in the air to tease Coach, laughing like a little bastard.

It did not last long.

Coach wrangled Leo quickly, holding both of his arms against his back and bending him over a desk, and only _then_ could he pry the walkie-talkie out of his grubby hands.

The desk he bent over happened to be just one away from Sunglasses kid, who lifted up said sunglasses in pure shock.

Leo looked up at Sunglasses, hands behind his back, and being held in a lock by a balding gym coach, and he smirked. It seemed to play out in slow motion.

“Hey there.” Leo said, and  _oh god_ , Piper knew it was over for him. Whatever fate Sunglasses kid had before now had Leo intwined in it for sure. R.I.P Sunglasses kid, it was nice knowing you.

When Leo was done being detained, he plopped himself into the desk next to Piper’s with a huff, leaning his head against her arm.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Chiron and Coach Hedge were having a very heated conversation about her best friend’s existence. Mr. Stetson seemed to be sending a very terse email from his desk. 

“So, you decided to join us after all?” Piper asks Leo.

Everyone’s attention is on them, even if Frank couldn’t meet Leo’s eyes out of pure terror.

The boy closes his eyes, as if looking back on serene memories. “Yep, turns out i just couldn’t stop myself from coming back to this paradise. We're like magnets. It was a nice thought while it lasted, though.”

Piper smiled. Leo has attended summer school every year she could remember—except for this year, where he managed to barely scrap by with his grades, surprising  literally every teacher they knew. Leo, er, wasn't the _most_ scholarly. But, _for fuck's sake_ \--The idiot had just managed to evade a summer of actual hell, and _somehow_ , he managed to steer himself right back into it.

To make it even more of a feat, this summer school isn’t exactly “schooling ”. Remember when she mentioned that their school was for degenerates? She meant it. Summer school is like a behavioral community service program dressed up poorly as a teaching device. Most days you're not even learning anything, just scarping gum off the underside of the bleachers and doing all of the jobs the janitors don't want to do. It’s hell. And Leo, the dumbass, had just crawled his way out of hell, and _somehow_ , he  _still _ managed to come back.

“I thought you passed this year. We had a party and everything, remember?” She asked, recalling upon the small cake all of their friends pitched into getting him in June. 

“I did pass. I’m here for other reasons—“—he glances around the expectant faces around them—“i’ll tell you about it later.”

Leo rights himself, no longer laying on Piper. A shark-like grin spreads across his face. His signature. “So.....who are you people?”

Frank starts stuttering to himself quietly, so Pen guy saves him from going first.

“My name’s Percy. I failed Algebra.” He said with a wave.

“Nico. English, and uh, too many absences.” Sunglasses said—Nico. Nico said.

“English?” Leo grinned. “I could help you with that.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Don’t let him help you. Leo’s basically illiterate.” 

The boy made a 'shut up' gesture with his hands, and the corners of Nico’s lips flick up, if just barely.

Leo’s gaze just so much _passes_ over Yang and the boy curls his lip and sneers at him.

“I’m Sherman Yang, but you don’t need to know me. I’ve heard of you,  Valdez .” The trouble maker growled. It was as if he wanted to pick a fight.

Leo shrugged, as if that was a fair statement. Leo's reputation often preceeds him, and he's on just about every administrator's "watch list".

“How bout’chu? ” Leo nodded his head towards Frank, who panicked accordingly. “You look like you play football.”

“Right?” Piper said.

“I’m Frank.” He managed to get out. You’d think the guy would be more confident for weighing, like, three tons. He could probably squish Leo like a bug. Well, that’s not the best example. Leo isn’t notoriously hard to squish.

Percy brightened.“Cool, cool. Now that we’ve all met each other, whooo’s readyyy for a summer of fun—“

“Where did Mr. Stetson go?” Nico interrupted.

Piper glanced around. The teacher’s desk was empty, and they were the only ones in the classroom.

Huh. Where  _did _ Mr. Stetson go?

“Is he allowed to leave us alone?” Frank asked, picking at his nails.

“I don’t know”—Leo snatched up the other pencil from Frank’s desk, the one he used to replace the one Piper broke, and tried balancing it on his upper lip—“He’s probably not allowed to leave  _me _ alone though.” Leo waggled his fingers and the pencil fell off his face. “I’ll probably set something on  f-i-rRrrr-eee--“

Yang got up. “Well  i’m not waiting around for that prick—“

They were interrupted by a loud crash.

_ BOOM! _

Something heavy enough to make the floors tremble had crashed somewhere outside, making the five of them jump in their seats. The sound of hard rain accompanied it and the screeching of car alarms followed.

“ _Shit_!” Nico swore, fumbling for the sunglasses that had fallen off his head.

“What was that?” Frank yelped.

Piper didn’t answer. It sounded like something big, but....what?

Piper got out of her seat.  She walked to the door, and looked out into the hallway. No one was there.

“Well,” Piper turned the door handle, “Chironnever said anything in his rules about a little detective work.”

The rest of the group, sparing Yang who chose to hang back, followed her out into the halls, Frank if not a little more cautious than the rest of them.

Another boom.

This time it felt like an invisible force whipped through the halls, flinging paper off pinboards and making the lights flicker above. Piper stumbled in her step.  The sound of rain on a rooftop grew louder, but it was as if the rain was harder. More aggressive.

All of the hallway lights powered off.

“ _Motherfucker_ —!” The sound wave had flung Leo against the wall, and he struggled to regain his balance. “I’m not gonna lie Piper, I’m not really  _feeling _ the whole detective work vibe right now—“

“What’s going on?!”

Frank tried to dash back to the classroom but Percy caught him by his collar.

“Don’t go back there idiot! If Mr. Stetson is back in the classroom were  _dead_ —“

“ _M r. Stetson _ is what you’re worried about?!”

Piper eyes hardened. Just down the hall was a door to the second floor balcony.

“Come on!” She waved to the other four and they followed her through the door, busting it open .

Outside is a nightmare; Dark clouds are swirling above, dust is whipping around in the air, and softball sized chunks of ice and rock are raining down from the sky.

Nico’s voice cut through the wind. “ _What the_ _ fuck?!”_

Piper couldn’t have said it better herself.

Her hair was whipping violently across her face, and it was growing increasingly hard to see with all the dust. Piper covered her face with her hand, but it did little good. 

_WHAM_!

A giant rock, the size of a small Go-Kart, dropped from the clouds and landed in the school courtyard, cracking cement.

_Well_ , Piper thought,  _at least my detective skills were effective._

Behind her, Frank tries to exit through the balcony doors again, but can’t get them open. Piper switches her attention back to the courtyard. If she squints her eyes, she sees two figures below them cowering under a fallen bench.

Mr. Stetson and Coach hedge.

“GUYS!” Piper yells over the wind,  “We have to go help Stetson!”

Leo’s eyes went as wide as saucers, and he shook his head at her.  “NO WAY! _I'M_ NOT GOING DOWN IN THAT MESS!

Percy squinted over the edge to try and see what she was looking at, but howled in pain as a small piece of rock flew into his eye.  Frank and Nico agreed with Leo, still trying to get the balcony door open—Piper thinks it locked behind them. The doors can only be opened from the inside

And  fuck —the wind is whipping violently by Piper’s ears, and it’s  _so_ loud, and her vision is starting to go a bit fuzzy at the edges,  _and_ —

A shock wave cut through the air, a single high-pitched frequency piercing her ears, with so much strength it lifted all five of them off their feet and flung them backwards into the concrete wall behind them, with the exception of Percy, who was flung off the balcony entirely.

They slid down the wall like rag dolls. 

As quickly as the storm came, it left. The clouds cleared, and hail stopped falling from the skies.

Someone beside Piper groaned. Her ears are ringing. 

One by one, they all blearily open their eyes, and took a look at their surroundings.

Leo rubbed his head, before examining his hands, as if he was amazed that he was still alive.

Mumbling, Nico looked up to the sky, with his two palms pressed together in prayer. “I  swear, i’ll never flunk out of english again, i’ll  _study_ next time, just _please_ don't do this ever again—“

Frank’s face went green. “....I think i’m going to be sick.”

He held his vomit in for about two seconds before hurling over the balcony rail.

They heard a pained voice from below.

“ _Hey_ —! Don’t throw up here man! I’m down here—fuck—ugh,  _gross_.”

Frank stopped throwing up, a trail of saliva connecting the rail to his lips like the cords on the Golden Gate bridge. “Oh my—are you okay down there?”

“Yeah. My ass hurts a lot and there’s a ton of rocks down here, but— _oh my God.”_

This sentence was followed by a short scream. Piper leaned over the balcony to see.

Percy was standing up clutching his left arm that was—Oh.... _oh _. Arms are not supposed to bend like that, are they?

Leo drags himself weakly beside her. “Damn,” he croaked, “That shit looks like a pool noodle.”

* * *

The day was a lot for Piper to digest. Most everyone headed home right after. Seriously, what kind of freak storm  _was _ that? It the latest news on every TV. A suddenand myserious hail storm in the middle of _summer_. 

But, that mystery could be left alone until she at least got some decent sleep.

Piper turned the hall in her house and was about to enter her room when she caught her sister standing in front of her.

“Drew...? I need you to move.”

Drew pursed her lips and crossed her arms, effectively blocking Piper’s path.

“Not until you tell me when that particularly pretty boy-toy you know is coming back. Last Summer it was  June, and the one before that  mid _July_! I need to know when to anticipate these things,  _Piper_!”

Piper scoffed. Her bitch of a sister had been trying to get in her friend’s pants for years.  “It’s not like it’d change much, Drew.” She said, “He’s not attracted to she-demons, you know.”

The girl’s perfectly defined eyebrows pinched in the center of her forehead. Piper hopes with all her might it  creases.

_ (That’s right, keep talking your shit. It’ll be different when he’s mine. He’d never go for an ugly bitch like you....) _

—What?

Piper drew back, mouth open and brows creasing in the same point that Drew’s had. She pushes sister out of the way.

“ _What’d_ you say about me?!” Piper fumed.

“I didn’t say anything!”

Yeah,  right.

Piper shoved past her and slammed her bedroom door shut. She flopped onto her bed, and pulled a pillow over her ears.

Still, she could hear Drew.

_ (Jeesh. I hope she’s not on her period, that would suck if mine synced up, I’ve got a party this weekend....Hm, I wonder if i should wear blue or purple nail polish to the party....) _

That's....Her walls are usually soundproof.

* * *

Frank’s car wasn’t starting.

Which doesn’t make _sense_ since it’s a new model, with fresh black tires and baby blue paint and everything.

It’s already bad enough with that big storm that rolled through, and the fact that his first day of summer school was a mess. He’s never been so embarrassed in his life—and it’s all because of that  stupid kid Leo and his really scary friend.

In a bout of frustration, Frank slammed his fist down on the hood of the car—

Oh crap. Frank jumps back.

There’s a fist-deep dent in the roof of his car, bending so deep that the metal bended upwards around the sides.  The car alarm started going off. All Frank could do was stare.

* * *

Nico blinked.

Then blinked again.

And— _what the fuck?_

He had just been ready to leave the house when he realized he had forgotten his wallet, so he went back to grab them but when he turned around...he was standing in his kitchen.

His wallet was on the counter.

How did he....get here? Nico doesn’t remember walking here. It’s like one moment he was outside, on his porch, and the next he’s in inside. Shaking his head, Nico grabs his wallet and warily leaves.

* * *

The bitter smell of cigarette smoke wafts through the classroom.

Sherman yang flicks the ash off his marlboro and looks out the window. He hears the sound of a door opening, but makes no move to turn around.

“Better off you leave me alone, yeah? Can’t you see that i’m busy?”

He gets no response other than silence.

He drops the cigarette on the floor, end still lit.“Listen,you better go now cunt or I swear i’m gonna  mess you up—“

_Craaaack_.

Yang’s skull meets the wall with a sickening crunch. 

A well-greased shoe comes down on top the burning cigarette, and squishes it out.

* * *

They were all given the day off.

Mr. Stetson was relatively alright, unhurt with the exception of a few scrapes and bruises. Coach hedge, on the other hand, had suffered a concussion from the when the bench flipped over on the two of them. He  still refused to call in for a sick day.

 _(“A sick day? Absolutely goddamn not, i haven’t missed a day of work since 01. Besides, Valdez and his little girlfriend are running around there. You think i’m going to leave _those _two_ _menaces alone?”)_

Percy was sent to the nurses office after he denied a ride from the ER, claiming he was  _“not going to pay two hundred fucking dollars for a ride to a hospital that was five fucking minutes away”_ , and would simply  _“call up a friend.”_

The whole situation led to a very,  _very_ awkward classroom the next day.

The five of them stood in a line in the center of the courtyard, with Coach Hedge standing in front. Nico kicked a rock in front of him.

Coach started walking like a drill sergeant. He probably was one, once, what with the silver whistle always swinging by his neck. “Alright cupcakes, I know we had a rough day yesterday, but we have work to do. The ice melted overnight, but I want all these rocks picked up by twelve and no later, is that clear?”

Piper and Nico continued texting on their phones. Leo smiled and nodded like he was listening, but anyone in a ten foot radius could hear the blasting music from his headphones.

Mr. Stetson, who was standing beside Coach, gave them all a dark look.

“That’s it! No more cellphones—give them here.”

Piper raised a brow. “Are you even _allowed_ to take our cell phones?”

He didn’t answer her question, just snatched the flip phone from her hand.

Leo guarded his ipod touch. “You can’t take mine, i’m expecting a call from—“

Stetson ripped the ipod from his hands, daring Leo to challenge him.

“Dick licker.” Leo sneered.

The rest gave up their devices begrudgingly, except Frank, who apparently didn’t have a phone.

“I don’t want to hear a single complaint. It’s bad enough I have to spend my summer with you five filthy slackers.” He growled.

“There used to be six of us....” Percy trailed off.

And oh...he was right. Where is Sherman Yang?

Stetson cracked his neck. “Five? Six? What does it matter? I’m glad to be dealing with one less of you’s.”

Piper doesn’t remember Stetson being this irritable. She hopes whatever’s bothering him stops soon, so she can have her phone back. Who knows? Maybe he just needs to get his dick wet. 

“I won’t be breathing down your necks, but don’t think for a  _second _ you can slack off because i  _will _ be watching—“

Leo raised a hand.

“Valdez.”

“Coach, why are those rocks over there telling me to die?”

Coach Hedge glared at the scrawny boy. “Valdez, I  swear if i hear anymore damn  schitzo _nonsense_ outta you—“

“No, he’s right coach,” Percy interjected, pointing to a group of unusually placed rocks, “Look over there.

Sure enough, twenty feet to the left of them was a large picked apart area of rocks, shaped into letters and forming the word, “DIE.”

Piper scanned the rest of the courtyard and she noticed some other unusual looking pilings.

“Hey morons.” She called. “Come check this out.”

She stopped in front of the first pile and the boys trailed behind her.

“You.” Nico read. Sure enough, the rocks were shaped to say  “YOU.”

Percy continued along the path. “Will....”

Frank stopped in front of the second to last word. “All...”

“Die.” Leo finished. “You will all die....hm, what a nice message to start off my morning to, y’know? Really gets me _pumped_ for the day—“

“ Valdez! ” Coach yelled, “Did you do this? That’s it, i’m calling home—“

“Actually coach, I have no more clue than you do. I mean, why the  fuck”—Coach called him out for using profanity—“Would i be moving _rocks_? I have better shit to do. My bet’s on jumbo shrimp over here.” He gestures to Frank and narrows his eyes with suspicion. “You can just see the murder in his eyes. Makes me shudder. But, I gotta say man, the whole rocks thing? Kinda lame.”

“ _I _ didn’t do it—“

Coach Hedge blew his whistle and the clamor stopped abruptly. “Listen up, I don’t care which one you’s little delinquents did it. Just make sure these rocks are cleared by twelve or it’ll be your heads!”

The short man stalked off into the main school building.

“Two death threats in the past hour,” Leo muttered, “Wanna bet we can make it three, folks?”

“Trust me. That’s a pretty achievable goal for you.” Percy retorted.

Picking up the stones was a nightmare. The sheer amount that littered the courtyard was enough to make a small beach if ground up. Piper _better_ have mad biceps by the time she’s done, or she's gonna be mad. 

Frank stood next to a turned over bench in the courtyard. It was made from pretty heavy iron, and Piper remembers watching someone get pushed roughly into it during freshman year, and the damn thing didn’t move an inch. Nico paused from picking up stones.

“ _Oi_ , do you need help lifting that—“

Frank nodded, then put his hands under one side and _heaved_ —

He flipped the bench upright with one hand, as if it weighed nothing more than a feather.

Nico’s eyebrows shot up towards the sky.

“O-kay then.”

Silence ensued.

_ (Should i tell them...?) _

Piper whipped around to face Frank. “Tell us what?”

He looked taken back. Was it something Piper said? Everyone had been acting like this towards her recently...

“I-i just....Uhm, has anyone been feeling....a little weird after the storm?” Frank asked hesitantly, like any one of them would snap his head off.

“No.” Percy replied. “Besides my snapped radius, that is.”

“I have.” Leo says, oddly serious all of the sudden. Percy, Nico and Piper look at him in surprise.

“Really?” Frank asks.

“Yeah.” Leo blinks. “I’ve got this insane itching sensation on the inside of my ass. Hasn’t stopped since yesterday. Maybe you can reach down there and itch it for me— _ ow!” _

Piper slapped him on the shoulder.

“Stop hitting me! Ah, what is _with _ you people....”

Piper considers Frank’s question a little bit more seriously. She had been feeling weird lately....should she tell them what happened with Drew?

_And what?_ The little voice in her head sneered,  _What’s that loser going to do about it?_

Piper mentally shrugs. She has to agree. But at the same time....

Nico cleared his throat. “Actually, something weird happened to me.”

“Oh?” Leo’s eyes glinted, “Pray tell.”

“It was like...” The black haired boy paused in his sentence, throwing a rock into the rusty wheel barrow beside him. “I had teleported. One second I was getting my wallet and the next i was standing in my kitchen.”

A beat of silence follows.

“Yep. Sounds pretty fucking weird to me.” Leo nodded. “Well, in that case, why don’t I tag along and you can zap us to Vegas or something—”

“Guys... ” Frank starts, “Maybe...the storm...It did something to us. Changed us. Gave us powers. “

They stared at Frank with intrigue.

“Actually,” Leo starts solemnly, “Something  _did _ happen to me....Last night. There I was, standing at the edge of the roof of my complex last night, about to end it all, when...I...I flied.”

Frank’s eyes glimmered. “Really?”

Barking a loud laugh, curls bouncing everywhere, Leo tosses a rock into the bin. It misses and dinged off the side.

“ _No!"_ Leo laughed. Y-you actu—lly believe we have  superpowers?” He snorted, gesturing to the rest of the group. “It’s a load of bullshit man.  Us? _Superheroes_? You’re shittin’ me. That’d be a fuckin’ sight. Most of us won’t even finish high school.”

Frank turned away dejectedly. Piper turned her back as well. Leo was probably right... Since when had she let Big Gulp get in her head.

By the time they were done laboring, it had hit just an hour after twelve. Nico had exclaimed it would have gone a lot quicker if it weren’t for _ “Percy and his stupid arm”_ , to which Percy had responded sarcastically,  _“So i was just supposed to just_ not _fall and_ not _break my arm?”_ ,  and then Nico responded with  _“Yes. Exactly.”_

It’s a good thing Coach hadn’t been there in the end. They might’ve been dead meat.

But just when Piper was about to call it a day and skip the rest of class, Mr. Stetson emerged from the school, and he looked  _angry_.

“Aw come on, Stetson. Just let us go home, man. What, do you get off on our pain or something?” Leo whined, making an obscenely jerky hand movement near his crotch that made Mr. Stetson's face nearly boil with anger.

Little bitch. Leo should _not_ be allowed to complain. Piper cleared up _twice_ as many rocks as him.

“Everyone inside. _Now_.” Mr. Dodd growled.

Piper rolled her eyes and popped a piece of gum,looking him in the eyes as she passed him.

“Twat.”

Nico followed suit. “Asswipe.”

* * *

At least the classroom has air conditioning.

The five teens sat down at their desk, exhausted, and enjoying the cool air blown from the vents above. Piper had grabbed an icepack from the nearly-broken mini fridge in the back for her headache. It melted within minutes.

Mr. Stetson stared at them. The five teens stared back. The hand on a clock ticked, the time reading half past one.

Piper held the mushy ice pack to her head. “So....are we excused for another day? Or are we all just going to sit here?”

Mr. Stetson gave no answer, just pursued his lips, fingers tapping on his arm. He seemed a bit angry—actually, a  lot angry, given the little snarls and heavy breathing here and there.

Leo balanced an icepack on his forehead, looking up to the ceiling. “I, for one, think we should be excused for the day—lovely idea Piper, by the way. I mean we, like,  kinda saved your life yesterday. Well—we didn’t _actually_ do it, but we  _reallyyy_ thought about it. Trust me—that’s why we came out to the balcony on the first place!” He smirked at the teacher. “ _And _ we just got done hauling rocks for hours. Don’t such heroic acts call for at least another day off?”

Steam just about came out of Mr. Stetson ears. All the sudden, he let out a furious yell, then grabbed meter stick that was resting against the wall. He snapped it like a toothpick against his leg, dropped the pieces the pieces, and exited the classroom with a door slam.

A moment of silence ensued.

“Well,” Clicking his tongue, Leo smiled. “Someone’s a little bitchy today. Must not have had their coffee this morning, huh—“

“Shh!” Percy shushed him. “He might hear you, idiot, and I don’t know about you, but i’ve had my fair share of picking up rocks for the day.”

Nodding, Nico picked at his finger nails. “He’s been acting weird all day, i wonder what it's about....”

“—Stetson? Are we seriously not going to talk about the  total freak storm that _wrecked_ the _school_? I mean it was hailing literal _rocks_.”

Percy had a point.

Nico popped a piece of gum, eyeing them all warily. “If you guys want to talk rocks, that’s fine. But i’m more interested in the giant fucking shock wave that broke Percy’s arm.”

“And I, for one,” Leo raised a finger, “Would like to forget this shit ever happened. Who needs freak storms and meteorites?  Fuck that shit,  _amen_.”

Piper heard Leo’s voice ring out in her head, but oddly enough, his lips weren't moving.

_ (They don’t like me....) _

Piper’s breath catches. Is she the only one that can hear this?

Leo turned to her. “Piper?”

Piper thought about her weird experience with Drew last night. She kicked her feet up on the desk lazily, giving Leo a glance. “I don’t care.”

He turned back to Frank, Percy, and Nico, crossing his arms. “See?”

Standing up from the desk dramatically, Leo grabbed his ratty black jansport backpack and headed for the door.

“Leo—“

Leo ignored Piper, throwing up a peace sign. “I don’t care what you guys do, but I don’t see Stesty-poo anywhere, so i’m outta here. Adios.”

The door swung shut behind him.

They sat in silence, with the exception of Nico’s chewing gum.

Nico pauses in his gum chewing. “What an asshat.”

And while,  yes, Nico had called Leo an asshat, there  was a tinge of admiration and interest in his eyes. 

“Are you really friends with him?” Frank asked, as if the very thought sent him into metaphysical questioning. 

And  _wow_. Frankie’s getting a little brave here. Piper leans forward to intimidate him.

“You got a problem with it, chum bucket?” She snips.

Percy snorts, muttering into his jacket sleeve. “Chum-bucket....”

Nico flicked him on his cast.

_ “Ow!” _

Scowling, Piper shook her head. She shoud be on a beach somewhere, tanning _and_ sipping underage margaritas. She can’t believe she’s stuck with these losers for the remainder of her summer....

The sound of squeaking shoes coming from the hallway grabs her attention—and then the door flies open.

Leo slams it shut and and clicks the lock, breathing hard. _“_ _Fuck, fuck, fuck!” _

“What happened?” Percy questions, holding his broken arm protectively.

“Shit!” Leo swore. His eyes are blown wide, and  holy fuck—Piper thinks this is the most distraught she’s ever seen him.

“ Guys—! It’s”—The boy’s voice breaks into heavy phants—“Stetson....I think he’s...trying to kill me!”

Percy stands up, a disbelieving look plastered on his face. “Okay, quit messing with us—“

_ WHAP! _

The door banged against it’s frame and Leo stumbled back from it with a yelp, falling on his ass.

In the small sliver of the window on the door Piper saw Mr. Stetson's face, only his eyes were bloodshot and the veins on his forehead stuck out prominently. He was holding an axe.

Percy screamed and stumbled backwards, pushing desks back words behind him, their legs making the floor screech. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM?!”

Leo threw his arms up. “HELL IF I KNOW! I—He—I was just coming down the hallway, and there was blood—He just went all  _psycho_! And  holy shit, we’re going to end up on a murder podcast—“

Mr. Stetson let out another crazed yell and hacked the door again with his axe, this time it’s metal part stuck through the door.

“SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!” Frank screamed.

In an effort to hide, Frank stumbled into one of the closets in the back of the class, jiggling the door handle open, but then jumped back when something big fell out.

Sherman Yang. Only, he wasn’t so alive anymore. Yang was glassy eyed, grey-skinned and slack jawed. His hair and face was matted with brown and red. Dark blood dripped out of the closet and made a small pool around the body.

Frank let out a frightened shriek and just as he did, the teacher’s axe knocked off the door handle and the door bust open.

Psycho-Stetson dropped the axe and lunged for Leo, catching him around the waist and then wrapping his beefy hands around Leo’s throat, squeezing.

SHIT. Shit, shit,  shit—

_ (Kill. Kill. Kill....Neck. Filthy rats...DIE—) _

Piper’s mind goes blank, and her feet are cemented to the floor.

Percy’s fists clench by his sides and the sprinklers go off for some reason. Piper manages to turn her head.  _What the—_

The water from the sprinklers streamed into a bigger, more pressured force, whipping at Stetson, creating little cuts up and down his arms. He cried out in pain, but still didn’t release Leo, who’s face was turning red. 

“The fire extinguisher!” Percy yelled.

The fire extinguisher?! That’s all the way in the neighboring building, they’ll never get to it in time—

Piper sees Nico flicker, hears the faint sound of breaking glass, and then all the sudden he’s back and wielding the ruby red metal weapon.

Nico throws the fire extinguisher in Piper’s direction and the loud slam of the metal against the floor distracted Stetson. He dropped Leo, the boy falling to the floor and coughing. He gasped for air.

Piper froze up. Mr. Stetson charged at her.

_ (kill. kill. die....kill. KILL!) _

Piper closes her eyes and sends a quick half-assed prayer to God before swinging the fire extinguisher with all her might—

She hears a sickening crack as the metal made contact with the man’s skull, and he drops to the floor.

He does not move.

Piper phants, clutching the fire extinguisher as she watches the trickle of red blood that leaked out from his skull.

Nico’s body flicks and then he’s across the room, helping Leo stand up. Percy came to stand next to Piper, a queasy green look on his face. Frank throws up into the trashcan.

“Oh God....” Percy muttered.

Leo stumbles over cautiously, hands shaking. Nico follows.

“Is he....dead?” The black-haired boy swallowed.

“Well,” Leo scratched the back of his head, his fingers trembling as they catch onto his curls, “See how his skull is kinda dented there? I-i don’t think it’s supposed to do that. I mean, when cars have dents you can usually just pop it back out, but uh....I don’t think he’s got much of a chance.”

The growing pool of blood under Mr. Stetson's head agrees with Leo.

“So dead?” Percy asks.

“Dead.” Nico replies.

Hm. Okay, d ead . _Dead_. Piper can work with that. She takes a deep breath and—

Stetson's bloody eyes flash open and he lets out a strangled yell, his mouth slobbering blood and spit onto the floor like one of those trickling water fountains off Amazon. His arm outstretches and grabs a hold of Piper’s ankle.

They all scream.

“Not dead!  _N-not dead!”_

Lifting the fire extinguisher up, Piper bashes it over their summer school teacher’s head with a grunt. Again. Again. And then  again.

“ Fucking....bastard........won’t stay.... _dead_....”

Percy pushes her away from him.

Oh.

What was once Mr. Stetson's head now looked like a deflated basketball that was gushing blood. 

There was blood on Piper’s hands. She tried to wipe it off. Oh God.... “Oh God....”

“You....You _killed_ him!” Leo exclaimed.

The blood wasn’t coming off. It was red and sticky and absolutely  _everywhere._ Piper looked at her hands, still fervently clutching the fire extinguisher, and then at the body laying on the floor.

She  killed him.

Percy stumbled back until his ass found a desk to sit on. He buried his face into his arms. “Oh my God, oh my _God_....”

“We....w-we have to go to the police!” Frank stuttered. His face was bright red.

“No!” Leo countered, “They’ll never believe us. Were just a bunch of high schoolers. They’ll say we murdered both of them!”

Nico shook his head. His skin was sickly pale, and even he couldn't cover up the horror on his face. “It was self defense....Murder is fine as long as it’s self defense, right? I-i mean,  he tried to _kill_ you.... They-they’ll do some CSI shit with the fingerprints and figure it all out!”

“And what would we tell them?!  That Percy _cut him with water_ and you _teleported_!? I’m telling you they’ll never believe us! To them it’ll just look like a bunch of delinquents who wanted to get out of school early.” Leo took a deep, shaky breath. “We can’t tell anyone.”

“N-no,” Frank stuttered. He wiped the vomit from his mouth and started for the door. “I can’t. I-i’m going to the police, _I_ didn’t kill anyone—“

Leo grabbed Frank’s arm and pulled him sharply down, and even though Frank was nearly three times his size, he still looked as frightened as a mouse.

“I swear to  God,  Quarterback, You are _not_ going to the police. I will do your fucking head in just like Piper did with—“

Piper dropped the bloody fire extinguisher with a crack. Her voice trembled. 

“We have to hide the body.”

**Author's Note:**

> kudos? comments ? validation, if you will? 
> 
> this writer is tired but appreciates everything ^v^


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